最近，来自日本先进工业科学技术研究所（AIST）的科学家通过对母鸡进行遗传工程化改造，使其所产的鸡蛋中含有特殊的药物能够抵御包括癌症在内等多种严重疾病，研究者旨在大幅降低临床患者治疗疾病的费用。

 

图片来源：medicalxpress.com

 

如果科学家们能够使得这种工程化改造的母鸡安全制造出“干扰素β”，那么这种药物的价格可能会大幅下降，干扰素β是一种特殊类型的蛋白，其能够治疗多种疾病，比如多发性硬化症和肝炎等，几微克的干扰素β价值高达10万日元（888美元）。

 

研究人员通过将制造干扰素β的基因引入到鸡的精子前体细胞中，随后再利用改造后的细胞使鸡蛋受精，这样就能够制造出遗传制造干扰素β基因的母鸡，也就意味着，母鸡在后期就能够产下含有抵御疾病药物制剂的鸡蛋；目前科学家们开发出了三种鸡蛋中含有特殊药物的母鸡，而且这些母鸡几乎天天都会产蛋。

 

下一步研究者计划将这种药物以半价卖给制药公司，同时这些公司也会选择将其作为临床研究材料，对于想要购买这种神奇鸡蛋的消费者来说可能还需要等待一段时间，对于引入新型或外源性的制药产品日本有着严格的规定，整个筛查过程往往需要数年才能够完成。但研究人员希望这项技术性的突破最终能够帮助将药物的成本降低到目前价格的10%。

 

 

Japan scientists grow drugs in chicken eggs

 

Japanese researchers have genetically engineered hens whose eggs contain drugs that can fight serious diseases including cancer， in a bid to dramatically reduce the cost of treatment， a report said Monday.

 

If the scientists are able to safely produce "interferon beta"， a type of protein used to treat illnesses including multiple sclerosis and hepatitis， by rearing the hens， the price of the drug—currently up to 100，000 yen ($888) for a few microgrammes—could fall significantly， said the English edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun.

 

Researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in the Kansai region kicked off the process by introducing genes that produce interferon beta into cells which are precursors of chicken sperm， the newspaper reported.

 

They then used these cells to fertilise eggs and create hens which inherited those genes， meaning the birds were able to lay eggs containing the disease-fighting agent.

 

The scientists now have three hens whose eggs contain the drug， with the birds laying eggs almost daily， the report said.

 

The researchers plan to sell the drug to pharmaceutical companies， halving its price， so the firms can use it first as a research material， the newspaper said.......